What's your favorite Matchbox?

Ahh, Matchboxes. So much cooler than Hot Wheels. This one's a Fiat 1500, No. 56.

Born in the early ‘70s, when most kids were playing with the garish, over-the-top, customized, extreme American Hot Wheels, with their crazy colors and chrome, I was that weird kid in the corner coveting my super-detailed Matchboxes made in rainy ol’ England. To me, they were mini reproductions, at 1:64 scale, not mere fantasies. Hot Wheels could never match the Matchbox accuracy either. It’s the like the doughy football center vs. the precision soccer striker. Perhaps it’s my UK ancestry, but I always thought the Lesney-built cars and trucks were so much more refined. I could actually see myself driving one, even at 9 years old. Could you do that with an El Camino van with surfboards on top, or something called a Jack Rabbit Special? Certainly not. Oh the humanity!

Sure, Hot Wheels probably rolled down that orange track a little faster than my Matchboxes, but I surely did it with more class and sophistication [raised pinky]. Sometimes I even stopped for a little Earl Grey and a crumpet or two along the way.

Behold, the VW 1600TL No. 67.

Much later in life, other toy/car geeks thought I was a wee bit daft when I sold near-mint samples of vintage Redline Hot Wheels, the most coveted of the collector. I found them at a local Salvation Army of all places [this is where I also scored five vintage, also-near-mint pressed steel ‘60s Tonka trucks as well]. I purchased each car for nary a ha’penny, or whatever the Brit version of a quarter is, and sold them for a tidy profit. I sold one Redline for $55, with most ranging from $25 to $35 at the time. Since they didn’t strike my fancy, off they went. I made a few hundred bucks from the sales.

The good news is Hot Wheels are the more expensive of the two to acquire from a collecting perspective. For instance, that loose $35 Hot Wheels car, with its goofy customization, would only be about $10 for an equivalently-priced Matchbox specimen including, y’know, the actual Matchbox in which it shipped. For those who aren’t geeky enough to know, vintage toys with the original boxes intact always fetch more cabbage.

The Dodge Stake Body Truck. Just look at that gorgeous front end. No. 4.

What does that mean? I now had incredible buying power for more Matchboxes!

In another Salvation Army score, I actually found a bazillion near-mint Matchboxes – in a vintage case – for $20. I’ve showcased a few samples here and will trickle out others in future posts.

So take a look and let me know your favorite!

Land Rover Fire Truck, No. 57, complete with removable ladder.

European Vacation. Let's go in this Fiat 1500!

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